When 'Telangana' Separated With Andhra Pradesh State?

By M H Ahssan | INNLIVE

ANALYSIS Fifty-eight years after the unification of Telangana and Andhra region, the Lok Sabha separated them by dividing the state of Andhra Pradesh. After blacking out the live coverage of the Telangana debate on Lok Sabha TV, the Hower House voted for Telangana state in a controversial voice vote. Interestingly, both Congress and BJP joined hands to divide Andhra Pradesh. Only the TMC and JDU staged a walkout calling it a murder of democracy.

According to experts the Congress which is staring at a rout in most parts of the country is likely to win big in Telangana which has 17 Lok Sabha and 119 Assembly seats. The Congress is expected to be decimated in Seemandhra region.

When Will Indian Politics Wake Up To 'Climate Change'?

By Aditi Kapoor (Guest Writer)

IN FOCUS Initiatives that do not factor in climate resilience and related gender concerns cannot address development challenges, but the manner in which state-level climate action plans are being implemented shows these are yet to become electoral planks. 

The Uttarakhand floods and Cyclone Phailin, which ravaged the coast of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh in 2013, have illustrated how the effects of climate change can erode development gains, greatly impacting the lives of the poor, especially women.

Will Multi-Cornered Fights Cost BJP The Elections In 2014?

By Shashi Kumar | INNLIVE

The most interesting aspect of the 2014 elections is that, despite the initial momentum gained by the BJP under Narendra Modi, its outcome is still unpredictable. This is largely because of two factors: the rise of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi, and its plans to spread elsewhere; and two, the fear of Modi, which may drive unusual partnerships in some states (Congress-BSP in UP and Congress-RJD-LJP in Bihar). 

Hope Vs Fear, Modi Vs Anti-Modi - The Real Battle Of 2014

By M H Ahssan | INN Live

Two four-letter words will define Elections 2014: Fear and Hope. The fears and hopes of people and political parties may be contradictory and often the same person may engender both fear and hope, but despite regional variations in the theme, the victor in May 2014 will be decided by this crucial equation: whether fear trumps hope or hope drowns fear. If both fear and hope find equal electoral space, we will have a hung house and more chaos.

Analysis: The Congress Party Churning - 'Tied Up In Knots'

By M H Ahssan | INN Live

With Lok Sabha polls on the horizon, the Congress is under siege, fighting battles on many fronts. Ashhar Khan on how India’s oldest party is trying to put its house in order.

That the Congress is on a sticky wicket is well known by now. That the party is fighting an anti-incumbency wave — never before experienced — is as well known. And that every party lives through such trying times is also no surprise, at least not to a party itself. In that, the Congress is not going through anything that has never happened to it before. So, why is the party worried?

Rivers Of Discord Between Telangana And Seemandhra?

By Srinivas Rao | INN Live

Krishna and Godavari rivers rise in the Western Ghats and flow to the Bay of Bengal through the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Since the annicuts were built during the British rule a 100 years ago, they provided kharif irrigation to both the river deltas.

After Andhra Pradesh state was formed in 1956, the construction of Nagarjuna Sagar reservoir provided for rabi irrigation in the Krishna delta. Similarly, after the construction of Pochampad dam in 1969, the Godavari delta got rabi irrigation.

Concern: MGNREGS Fails To Stem Odisha Migrant Tide

By Srimoy Kar (Guest Writer)

Odisha scripted yet another dark chapter last month in its continual saga of poverty and exploitation when middlemen  chopped off the hands of two migrant bonded labourers in Kalahandi district in reprisal to their companions’ escape with advance money. The sheer gruesomeness of the crime aside, the incident has laid bare the hollowness of the Naveen Patnaik government’s claims of successful implementation of poverty-alleviation schemes for the poor.

Despite MGNREGS, the `1 a kg rice scheme and the much-vaunted Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput (KBK) Action Plans, the age-old malaise of distress migration still exists in Odisha.

When 'Two Cocks' Arrested, Produced Before The Judge...

By Mithilesh Mishra | Raipur

A case of big gamble regarding cock fight has come to light after the police raided an isolated plot in old colony of Bhatagaon in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Two cocks were fighting with each other and the crowd standing there was putting their money on them. Just then, police raided the place and along with the two cocks arrested 52 people from the plot. The tray in which people were putting the money for the fight was filled with nearly Rs 1.15 lakhs.

The police said that it is the first such case of cock fight in which such huge amount of money has been gambled. Also, never in the city have so many people taken in to custody together. The police said that accused were from areas of Jharkhand, Odisha and Rajnandgaon. Both the cocks are confiscated and are kept in the police station.

The police will also produce the 2 cocks along with the 52 accused in the court. This case is one of its kind in which cocks are also arrested along with men.

Lok Sabha General Election 2014 To Be Held In Mid April

By Kajol Singh | Delhi

The Lok Sabha polls will be held between mid-April and early May in five or six phases and will involve about 800 million voters, highly-placed sources in the Election Commission revealed. Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim will also elect their state assemblies along with the Lok Sabha elections. 

"The announcement of the poll schedule will be done in the last days of February or at best the first two-three days of March," the sources told INN Live. During the 2009 polls, there were 714 million voters as against 671 million voters in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.

'10% Students Have Access To Higher Education in India'

By Dr.Shelly Ahmed (Star Guest Writer)

Access to education beyond higher secondary schooling is a mere 10% among the university-age population in India. This is the finding of a report “Intergenerational and Regional Differentials in Higher Education in India” authored by development economist, Abusaleh Shariff of the Delhi-based Centre for Research and Debates in Development Policy and Amit Sharma, research analyst of the National Council of Applied Economic Research.

Focus: 'Brutalised Bonded Migrants Of Western Odisha'

By P Ambasta (Guest Writer)

The chopping off of the palms of two migrant workers is a wake-up call. The gruesome incident of the chopping off of the palms of two migrant labourers of Kalahandi district of western Odisha by the labour contractor mafia in December 2013 should serve as a wake-up call. The incident highlights the ruthless extent to which the mafia can go to meet its ends and brings home the fact that more than 60 years after Independence, the poorest in our country still remain woefully unprotected.

Mafia Controls 500 Cr. Bonded Labour Market In Odisha

By Pranav Deb | Bhubaneshwar

EXCLUSIVE A strong mafia controls bonded slavery in Odisha and almost 3 lakh people are trafficked out of the state every year. The mafia controls the illegal labour market worth over Rs 500 crore with an iron grip.

For people like Nilambar Majhi and Dialu Nial there is no option other than bonded labour. Both belong to families of landless labourers in Kalahandi, and are ideal victims for the middlemen for labour contractors.

One such middleman told INN Live how families are loaned Rs 10-15,000 for medical treatment or a marriage. Unable to repay, they fall into the bonded labour trap and then entire families are forced to work year after year in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

Exposed: Pune Techie Busts Int'l Science 'Seminar Racket'

By Sameera Sahil | Pune

Racket was exposed after 2 fake papers submitted by Dr Navin Kabra to the Institute of Research and Journals were accepted. He haggled over the Rs 6,200 publishing cost, paid half of it, and was allowed to present one paper.

A computer scientist and technology entrepreneur from Pune has exposed a remarkably well-oiled academic seminars racket by getting two fake, nonsensical “scientific” papers accepted, despite the organisers assuring him that they will be peer-reviewed by an “international jury” of engineers and university professors.

'2014 Wrestling Bouts Will Be Between Many PM Aspirants'

By M H Ahssan | INN Live

ELECTIONS 2014 SCENARIO The PM copyright has expired as of now. Purely dominated by Copycats rule. Narendra Modi is no longer the only declared Prime Ministerial candidate of a political party. The liege lords and ladies of the AIADMK, TMC, SP and Congress have begun confabulations with their paladins to declare themselves as contenders for India’s top job. 

Surprisingly, NaMo’s monopoly was effectively challenged by none other than one considered his natural ally in the run-up to the 2014 elections. Last week, the general council of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) unanimously passed a resolution that the party would like to see its supreme leader, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, become the Prime Minister. 

Revealed: Gross Injustice With Judiciary Budget In India

By Aniket Sharma | INN Live

At a time when the judiciary is struggling to dispose a whopping  300,00,000 cases pending in various courts, an internal study conducted by court management system reveals that as many as 18 states in India are not even spending 1 per cent of the budget allocated to them for judiciary.

An officer associated with the survey report that conducted the study stated while enumerating data of all states from 2006-2011, “Judiciary needs to be separately dealt with in the plans by the planning commission and separate allocation is necessary by the planning commission and the finance commission.”

Think Fast: Power Crisis Looming Large In Andhra Pradesh

By Venkat Rao | Hyderabad

Power sector in the State is facing a piquant situation that holds the potential of turning into a crisis in the coming months thanks to the local agitations and transport problems in Odisha.

Power generation from the 2000 MW (4X500 MW) NTPC Simhadri power plant in Visakhapatnam has almost stopped for want of coal from the Talcher coal fields in Odisha.

The State gets dedicated supply of 1,000 MW from the central generating station while a portion of the balance power would be allocated depending on the need.

Special Report: The Dark Side Of Naveen Patnaik's Regime

By Partho Ghosh | Bhubaneshwar

Anyone who dares to dissent against the Naveen Patnaik government in Odisha faces the risk of being branded a naxal or seditionist. The list of those jailed on trumped charges includes legions of protesting tribals, public-spirited lawyers and human rights activists. In a month long investigation Gulail lays bare a systematic subversion of civil liberties and extra-judicial killings by a government that has till now been by and large successful in avoiding media scrutiny.

No End To Weather Woes, 'Cyclone Lehar' To Hit Tomorrow

By Rajyalakshmi Tegga | Vizag

No end to the weather woes in Andhra Pradesh, after cyclone Phailin and cyclone Helen, the state now braces for cyclone Lehar which will make landfall on Thursday. Costal Odisha has also been put on high alert.

According to weather officials, Leher is about 700-800 kms from the coast and landfall is expected by Thursday noon. Heavy rains can be expected in the coastal districts from wednesday evening with the cyclonic system inching towards the coast.

Opinion: 'Indian Politics Dark Horse Rising As Third Front'

By Neerja Chowdhury (Guest Writer)

Non-controversial Naveen Patnaik could be a consensus leader if a Third Front emerges. The 2014 mother of all battles is increasingly becoming a fight between Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi. And yet, as things move, the post-poll scenario may well become a toss-up between a Modiled BJP and a Congress – and Left – supported Third Front, or a variant. As of now, the prospects of a Congress-led UPA-III do not look promising. 

Focus: The Coercive Powers Of The CBI, The ‘Caged Parrot’

By Amitabh Pandey | Delhi

The clamour for CBI reform should focus on accountablility first, not autonomy. With the cries for CBI autonomy becoming shriller and the Supreme Court joining the chorus, the investigation agency has sensed a unique opportunity of transitioning from being an institution that would occasionally help political masters in their dubious political ends to becoming a self-propelled behemoth of coercive harassment and extortion. The transition enables it to be an ‘autonomous’ player in power politics and command its own price in political power markets.

The recent FIR against former coal secretary PC Parakh and Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla is a masterstroke towards asserting the claim to autonomy in the perverse use of power.